


If I did not kiss the girl

by serendipitous_rambles



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, One Shot, Shirbert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-30 02:36:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18306464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serendipitous_rambles/pseuds/serendipitous_rambles
Summary: Anne catches Gilbert singing to himself by the lake.





	If I did not kiss the girl

There truly was nothing like the spring in Avonlea. Anne loved all seasons, the beauty of winter, the warmth of summer, and the colours of fall. But spring was one of her favourite times. There was so much hope in the air. So much new life. It was a chance for a fresh start, something Anne was always glad for.

 

After she was finished with her chores, Marilla allowed her to go for a walk.

 

Anne skipped down lovers’ lane which was covered in pink and white blossoms falling from the trees. She held her hand in the air, catching a blossom as it fell and wove it into the braid of her hair.

 

As she approached the lake, she heard a soft humming.

 

Anne got closer, realising who the voice belonged to. Gilbert Blythe sat on the bridge, swinging his bare feet over the edge as he scribbled something in a notebook. Beside him lay his socks and shoes, and his paperboy cap.

 

The sun was shining on him making his brown hair seem warmer.

 

He quietly began to sing under his breath, still concentrating on whatever it was he was writing.

 

“ _ When I was a little lad, My mother often told me _ ,”

 

Anne was frozen watching him. But she managed to hide herself behind a tree and listen, hoping he wouldn't look up.

  
  


“ _ Way haul away, We'll haul away, Joe _ .”

 

She peered around the tree. At 16, Gilbert had certainly grown but only now was she really able to take it in. Where he had rolled up his shirt sleeves, she could see slight veins in his forearms as he tensed while writing. His profile had become more sharp over the last few years.

 

Maybe he had always been a  _ little  _ handsome. She could say that right? They'd become friends now she supposed and it was just one friend saying something nice about another friend. It didn't mean anything. 

 

“ _ And if I did not kiss the girls, My lips would all grow mouldy _ .” he smiled as he sang that line and Anne rolled her eyes. Of course he knew he was favoured by practically all the girls in Avonlea. He could kiss all of them if he wanted, they  _ certainly  _ wouldn't object.

 

But he stopped singing and looked up and out across the lake, Anne ducking back behind the tree. She didn't see how Gilbert had caught a glimpse of her red braid behind the tree.

 

He laughed quietly to himself, putting down his pencil. 

Anne wasn't as subtle as she thought she was. But he kind of liked it. She could be stubborn, and proud, but she was funny and free spirited. He wished he could be more like her sometimes.

 

Suddenly the words in the song didn't quite seem right. For he didn't want to kiss lots of girls. Just one in particular.

  
  


“ _ And I did not kiss the _ girl….” He sang to himself, standing up and folding his paper in his pocket that he had ripped from his notebook. He began putting his socks and shoes back on.

 

Anne saw him stand up, and slowly backed away from the tree. But she wasn't looking where she was going and tripped over a root.

 

“Anne!” Gilbert saw her fall and within a minute he was by her side. “Are you ok?”

 

He looked at her with such softness yet such concern. She felt his hand holding her arm and she looked down. He followed her gaze and immediately dropped his hand.

 

“I'm fine.” She snapped, a little embarrassed that he'd caught her.

 

They stood up, Gilbert still watching Anne.

“I…” he held the bit of paper in his pocket but couldn't quite find the courage to give it to her. So instead, he asked “Can I walk you home?”

 

At the gate to Green Gables, Gilbert lingered. He pulled out the paper he had been writing on.

 

“Anne, I...well, I was…” he's never so flustered. Normally he's so smooth talking and confident. But Anne always did this to him.

 

He looked into her eyes, and smiled warmly. “Here.”

 

He handed her the paper and tipped his cap to her before stepping away.

 

She waited until he was out of sight before rushing to the steps of the porch. Marilla came out, wiping her hands on her apron.

 

“Was that Gilbert? You should have invited him in, poor boy.”

 

But Anne wasn't listening, she was reading the note which turned out to be a poem.

 

She held it to her chest, unaware of Marilla. She wouldn't reveal to anyone what was in that poem, it was simply between her and Gilbert. 

 

But when she next saw him, she slipped her own poem into the palm of his hand before rushing away as if nothing had ever happened.

 


End file.
